Alex Rider Series Sells Around the Globe

The Alex Rider series, an adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s young adult spy novels, has notched up deals in nearly 100 territories around the world.

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) licensed the show to Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) for Viaplay in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The series has also been picked up by Kinopoisk HD in Russia and will air on Nova in Greece and DSmart in Turkey. AXN will broadcast the series across multiple European territories, including Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Movistar+ will be showing the series in Spain.

StarzPlay picked it up for broadcast in multiple territories across the Middle East and North Africa, while M-Net acquired the series for Showmax across sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. Across Asia, buyers include Sony Liv in India, Korea Telecom in South Korea and U-Next bringing the series to Japan. TVNZ is streaming the series in New Zealand.

The series is produced by SPT-backed Eleventh Hour Films (EHF). This follows last week’s announcement that the series will be airing on Amazon Prime Video in the U.K. from June 4.

Wayne Garvie, Sony Pictures Television’s president of international production, said, “We are so thrilled that Alex Rider is finally to be unleashed on audiences around the world! When we started on this unique journey our aim was to create a premium drama, that paid justice to Anthony’s novels, with exciting action scenes, nerve-shredding tension and great acting. Eleventh Hour has delivered just that. And at a time when the world needs escapism, there’s no better time for a new hero to step forward—Alex Rider, your moment has arrived!”

Keith LeGoy, Sony Pictures Television’s president of worldwide distribution, said, “In these unprecedented times, keeping people entertained with great stories and remaining connected with one another have never been more important. Alex Rider highlights both: it marks a unique model, with our international production and worldwide distribution arms working hand-in-hand from green light through to final sale. It has been a fantastic collaboration, and a strategic risk we were confident to make with such popular IP we truly believed would have broad, worldwide appeal. Great stories, working together.”

Eve Gutierrez, executive producer at Eleventh Hour Films, added, “Sony’s original approach to commissioning and mission to find buyers who would truly champion the drama in every territory around the world has been both innovative and refreshing.  We are thrilled that the first season of Alex Rider is going to be such a global event in 2020, 20 years after the first Alex Rider book was published.”